News Release | PDF

RELEASED BY:
Welcome House, Inc. • 20575 Center Ridge Rd. • Suite 200 • Rocky River, OH 44116
440-356-2330 • 440-356-9421 Fax

CONTACT:
Tony Thomas, LISW • Executive Director

RELEASE:
Immediate

DATE:
September 20, 2006

Special Notice

Welcome House Inc. will celebrate its 25th year of providing services to persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) on October 8, 2006. The event will be hosted by Connie Dieken, a well known television personality and president of her own communications company, OnPoint Communications. Our keynote address will be delivered by Judge Dick Ambrose, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and former Cleveland Browns linebacker.

At this special celebration, we will be honoring three distinguished members of our community who have dedicated their time, their professional lives or, in one situation, a lifetime, to serving persons with IDD.

First, the agency will honor Senator Mike DeWine, U.S. Senator from Ohio, who has championed the cause of persons with IDD both in legislation and his ongoing advocacy work for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Senator DeWine has recently introduced legislation that will strengthen the ADA for the future. The senator is the first Ohio legislator to sit on the Senate Appropriations Committee in over 60 years and is also am ember of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Second, Dr. Carl V. Tyler Jr. will be honored as one of the outstanding physicians who serve persons with IDD. Dr. Tyler is chairperson of the Geriatric and Research Division of the Fairview Hospital/Cleveland Clinic and is certified in advanced geriatric practice. He is also a member of the Academy of Developmental Medicine specializing in serving persons who are aging and have IDD. Dr. Tyler is currently working on a research project with Welcome House for a needs assessment to support more proactive strategies to serve families in which aging parents are still caring for a family member with a developmental disability.

Our final community award recipient is Ms. Viola Britton, a life trustee of the West Haven Foundation, the forerunner to Welcome House. Ms. Britton lives with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Together, as a family, they have created a wonderful home environment for Vi’s daughter, Margie. Margie, now in her 40’s, has a significant IDD that requires care from all family members. While supporting her daughter and family, Ms. Britton continues to help Welcome House and our supporting foundation, West Haven. As a current life trustee, Ms. Britton is one of the original founding members of the West Haven
Foundation, first developed in 1972 by the William, Gertrude and Rosalie Steudel family.

We hope you can join us for this special celebration. Information about the event is enclosed or if you need more details about the event, contact Tony Thomas, Welcome House, 20575 Center Ridge Rd. Suite 200, Rocky River, Ohio 44116, 440-356-2330.